Rotatable water gate



July 26, 1938. H. E. SMYSER ROTATABLE WATER GATE Filed July 2, 1937 6 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR HARRY E, ,SMYSE ATTORNY 1938- I H. E. SMYSER r 2,123,090

ROTATABLE WATER GATE 3 Filed July 2, 1937 e Sheets-:Sheet 2 3i HARRY E, SMYS ER INVENTOR Jul 26, 1938.

H. E. SMYSER ROTATABLE WATER GATE 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 2, 1937 HARRY E. SMYSER INVENTOR ATTORNEY July 26, 1938. H. E. SMYSER ROTATABLE WATER GATE 6 SheetsQ-Sheet 4 Filed July 2, 1937.

INVENTOR BY 2v.

ATTORNEY H. E. SMYSER 2,125,090

ROTATABLE WATER GATE Filed July 2, 1957 6 SheQtS- -Sheet 5 ll) R E u u s Y R HH HI WW H W M m HH MWMH WMM M s w n -41.? m n E n n. m m 1 R M A Y n o 3 m m ..l. n m T u n. w m n July 26, 1938..

ATTORNEY July 26, 1938. E, SMYSER 4 2,125,090

ROTATABLE WATER GATE Filed July 2, 1937 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Fig. 6

INVENTOR/ HARRY E. SMYSER ATTORNEY WWW Patented July 26, 1938 ROTATABLE WATER Harry E. Smyser, York,

Pa., assignor to S Morgan Smith Company, York, 2a., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application July 2, 1937, Serial No. 151,596

4 Claims.

This inventionrelates to dams and more particularly to dams having'movable gates.

,An object of the invention is to provide an improved dam in which the damming element is in the form of a gate rotatably mounted in the dam and adapted to be swung downwardly towards the bed of the stream when it is desired to permit the free flow of water downstream.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved dam having a sill on the bed of the stream with a longitudinal arcuate depression formed in its upper surface for the reception of a gate rotatablymounted in the dam and having a curved surface on one side, so that the gate,

can be disposed within the depressed portion of the sill and thereby permit free and unrestricted flow of water past the dam.

With the foregoing and other objects and ad vantages in view, the invention consists in the preferred construction and arrangement of the several parts which will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:-

Figure 1 is a plan of a dam embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section;

Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, the gate being shown in vertical or damming position;

Fig. 4 is a View similar to Fig. 3 showing the gate lowered;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged plan. of the operating mechanism for the gate; and

Fig. 6 is a vertical section of a portion of the structure shown in Fig. 5.

The improved dam comprises a sill ll formed on the bed of a stream, said sill having an arcuate depression I2 formed longitudinally in its upper surface.

At each end of the sill I I there are upstanding end walls, one of which is indicated at I3, and the other being designated l4.

When the width of the stream is considerable and more than one gate is required for damming up the water, the intermediate end Walls may be in the form of piers, as shown in Fig. 1. These piers extend upwardly a suitable distance and a bridge structure I5 spans the top of the same.

The end walls or piers l3 and M, respectively, have pockets l6 and I1 formed therein, for the reception of the ends l8 and I9, respectively, of a rotatable dam member or gate 26.

The ends [8 and H) are in the form of cylindrical drums, adapted to rotate within the pockets l6 and II, respectively.

For the purpose of supporting the gate 26, a journal 2| mountedin each pocket, and carried by the respective piers l3 and I4, is disposed in a bearing 22 formed concentrically in each of the ends l8 and H), as shown in Fig. 2.

The gate 2!] comprises a segmental hollow structural steel body formed with a rear arcuate wall 23 and a flat front wall 24.

The rear wall 23 is concentrically disposed with respect to the ends l8 and i9 and also with the sill depression I2, so that when the device is rotated, the gate will move in a path across the top of thesill 1| from thevertical positionshown in Fig. 3, to the horizontal position "shown in Fig. 4.

In order to seal the joint between the gate 26 and the sill, at a point adjacent the longitudinal edge portion 25 of the gate, the curved wall 23 is formed with an outwardly projecting sealing strip 26 adapted to bear against theupper arcuate surface 12 of the sill H, as shown in Figs. .3 and 4.

On the upstream side of the sealing strip 26, the gate also carries an outwardly projecting flange Z'Lthe purpose of which is to prevent foreign matter, such as sticks, gravel and the like from entering the space between the sill and the gate and lodging against the sealing strip 26. Small particles of grit and other foreign matter 1 passing the flange 21 will be carried by the sealing strip 26 downstream, during the movement of the gate 20 from open to closed position, to the rear portion of the sill ll so that under normal conditions the depression l2 will be maintained relatively clean of foreign matter which might interfere with the functioning of the sealing strip 26.

The gate 26 may be operated by any suitable mechanism. In the present instance, the operating mechanism is shown as comprising an operating rod 3| pivotally connected at its lower end by means of a pin 32 carried by the end l9 and eccentrically disposed with respect to the axis of rotation of the gate.

The operating rod 3! extends upwardly in a notch 33 formed in the end wall or pier l4 and has its upper .portion threaded, as at 34 (Fig. 6).

Mounted on the threaded portion 34 of the rod 3| is a nut 35 which is'rotated by a worm gear 36 driven from a motor 31 or other source of power in the manner shown by Figs. 5 and 6.

The nut 35 and gear 36 are disposed within a housing 38 rotatably mounted on top of the pier M, as shown in Figs. 3 and 6.

When the gate 2|] is in a vertical or damming position, as shown in Fig. 3, the pivotal connection of the rod 3| with the end I9 will be disposed at a point below the axis of rotation of the device, so that when it is desired to shift the position of the gate 28 to lower the height of the water dammed up by said gate, the rod 3| can be pulled in an upward direction by its operating mechanisrn. In this way, the power required to operate the gate against the forces exerted thereagainst by the dammed up water Will not be excessive and the gate can be easily turned upon its journals 2|.

On the other hand, due to the disposition of the gate 20 within the depression I2, when said gate is in the horizontal position shown in Fig. 4, the force of the water flowing over the dam will be such that the gate can be readily elevated towards its vertical or damming position, by moving the operating rod 3| downwardly through the action of its operating mechanism.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A dam comprising a sill, upstanding end walls at each end of the sill, a circular pocket formed in each end wall, a movable gate, circular ends on the gate in the form of cylindrical drums rotatably mounted within the end pockets respectively of the dam, and mechanism eccentrically connected to a circular end of the gate for operating said gate.

2. A dam comprising a sill, upstanding end walls at each end of the sill, a circular pocket formed in each end wall in a plane above the sill, a movable gate having ends in the form of cylindrical drums adapted to rotate within said end pockets, a journal mounted concentrically in 7 mechanism eccentrically connected to an end of the gate for operating said gate.

3. A drum comprising a sill, upstanding end walls at each end of the sill, a circular pocket formed in each end wall, a movable gate spanning the space between the end walls of the dam, said gate having a cylindrical drum at each end thereof disposed in said pocket, and supporting means for the gate concentrically disposed within said pockets and journalled to the end walls of the gate for rotatably supporting the gate in the dam.

4. A dam comprising a sill formed on the bed of a stream, said sill having an arcuate depression formed longitudinally in its upper surface, upstanding end walls at each end of the sill, a

circular pocket formed in each end wall, a movable gate having a curved body portion adapted to conform to the arcuate depression in the sill when the gate is in lowered position, said gate having ends in the form of cylindrical drums adapted to rotate within the end pockets respectively of the dam, supporting means for the gate comprising a journal mounted in each pocket and carried by each end wall of the darn, a bearing formed concentrically in each cylindrical drum for each journal, means for sealing the joint between a longitudinal edge of the gate and the sill, operating mechanism for the gate comprising an operating rod pivotally connected at its lower end to an end drum of the gate, said pivotal connection being eccentrically disposed with respect to the axis of rotation of the gate, and means for moving said rod upwardly and downwardly to impart rotary movements of the gate from a substantially vertical position in which the gate is outside of the arcuate depression to a substantially horizontal position in which the gate is disposed within the depression.

HARRY E. SMYSER. 

